Those Who Lurk
by iiRep-Blaze
Summary: Five years after the events of Twilight Princess, A new threat to Hyrule is rising. The Stalmaas Regime, a guild who worship a god of death and chaos send their youngest assassin to take the life of Princess Zelda. But things take an unexpected turn when the the young assassin begins to question his existence, and begins a painful search for the true meaning of life. Rated M
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

_In a hidden village deep within Hyrule's vast plain, there is a secret guild, a guild of saboteurs and assassins alike. In this guild are the followers of a deity known only as Stalmaas. A deity of death, followers of Stalmaas believe in a balance that can only exist when all people struggle for power. Naturally, these people wish for the likes of rulers and royalty to be abolished from within the realm of Hyrule. As a result, they have made it their goal to systematically destroy Hyrule piece by piece. But all does not go as planned when a young prodigy of the guild begins to question the only existence he has ever known, and begins a painful search for his true purpose in the world…_

His eyes burned as he opened them underneathe the thin but bright slivers of light that peered through the cracked ceiling. He lied motionless on his hard bed allowing his vision to adjust to the dim room. Mustering up the will to break himself from his state of weariness, he sat up and took his first steps of the day on a rough wooden floor. The room was empty except for a few beds and a wardrobe. He reached for the cold steel handle of the wardrobe and pulled it open, kicking up dust and cobwebs in the process. Slowly reaching his arm inside, he grabbed a teal robe with a hood from out of the cavernous drawer. He threw the robe on with haste and made for the door. Light struck his face like a comet across the night-sky, his pupils became tiny inside his irises. "Hikio." A voice said. "You're finally awake, go to the longhouse, the headmaster is waiting there for you." He looked up to see one of his brethren, garbed in the same teal hooded-robes as he. Hikio walked behind his fellow guild member, and they began making their way to the longhouse. The organization was plotting something important to their cause, and Hikio was to play a key role.

The two finally made it to the longhouse. They found their places on the floor in front of the headmaster and sat down quietly. The headmaster was a short-statured man with a long grey beard and a single crimson eyeball. Menacing in appearance, he was the most well respected member of the guild, being appointed headmaster unanimously by the original guild founders for his tenacity, and cold-heartedness. The room was silent, as no one dared to even breathe while attention was on the guild master. The guild master removed his hood revealing a head of grey windswept hair. "Children of the Stalmaas regime." He spoke. All eyes were on him, a hundred hooded faces starring and waiting patiently for him to continue. "We have waited patiently, and moved in small steps. It is time for Hyrule to recognize the rule that is Stalmaas, time for the power given to the nobility upon birth to be erased, time for the races of Hyrule to go back to their tribal states, and to live by their instincts. The people of this realm have forgotten the true balance that is Stalmaas, the one true ruler of Hyrule. But soon the kingdom and its provinces will fall, we have sent our brethren to each part of the kingdom's rule in order to slowly usurp the throne. Today, we send our youngest Stalraven on his quest to Castle Town. His mission is to assassinate Hyrule's leader… Princess Zelda. Hikio! Rise to your feet! The moment our family has waited for is finally here!" Hikio stood up and removed his hood. He stepped onto the stage and faced the crowd of teal hoods. Everyone in the crowd began to chant his name. Hikio knew that his mission would possibly have an effect on the future of the guild. He had trained his whole life for this mission, and over the course of the past year, he had assassinated three high-profile business owners living under heavy security. These victims were simply practice dummies for the young prodigy, and as a result, the guild appointed him the youngest Stalraven (Master assassin) in the guild's history. "Tomorrow, we send him on his quest to Castle Town. Hyrule will fall! The Stalmaas regime will prosper!" A loud cheer broke the deafening silence, and Hikio prepared his mind for his upcoming quest. Ten years of training had made a killing machine, and he was finally being put to the ultimate test of his abilities.


	2. Chapter 1: Setting Out

**Chapter1: Setting Out**

Hikio was ready to leave. He wore his light leather armor underneath his teal robe. His stringy black hair blew in the wind as he packed his supplies onto his horse. He was to travel eastward until he reached Hyrule Castle. Once there, he would sabotage the guard carriage to delay the arrival of new sentries, allowing him a window of opportunity to enter the palace, then he was to locate princess Zelda and kill her. The task was the only thing on his mind, he existed for the sole purpose of completing this mission, nothing more. Growing up in the guild, he was trained from the time he was five in the art of killing. Social interaction was not something he had ever known. In fact he had never even seen the city before. Once his bags were all packed onto his horse, he mounted and looked back to his fellow assassins for further instruction. "Be safe." They warned. And with that he set out toward the east.

The breeze hit his face as his horse galloped at a steady speed. The green grass seemed infinite as he moved onward. He had never set out alone before, something felt different. It was a feeling he seldom felt, but he experienced it every time he saw something new. He stopped his horse and dismounted. In front of him was the greenest patch of grass he had ever seen. He walked over to it stealthily, a habit of his, and felt it in his hands. It was soft and fairly moist. He pulled a handful of the bright green blades out of the ground and threw them into the wind. The breeze picked them up, and he stood hypnotized as he watched the pieces of grass dance in the wind. The air settled, breaking him from his trance. He turned back to his horse and climbed onto the saddle. Hikio continued riding eastward, hours went by and darkness finally fell upon the field. Hikio dismounted and reached into his bag of supplies. In his luggage he had tinder and some sparking rocks, along with a sleeping bag. He scanned the area for fallen sticks and rocks. After a few minutes of searching, he had everything he needed for a camp fire. Once the bundle was lit, he laid out his sleeping bag and fed his horse a few vegetables. He undressed, preferring to sleep in his robe only, and set his armor, saber, and other tools aside from his sleeping pallet. He laid down in the spot he chose to take rest in for the night while the crackles of the campfire soothed him. Before he drifted off to sleep he began to question himself. "What if my life was always lonely and simple like tonight? What if I just lived for the simple things, like the feeling of the grass, or the crackling of a campfire? What if I put the Stalmaas regime behind me?" He shook his head quickly. "No! Rule under Stalmaas is what the world needs. People must struggle eternally, it's the only way we can continue to exist." He turned his back to the campfire and closed his eyes. His body began to relax as the warmth of the fire was absorbed by the nearby sleeping bag.

_**The Dream**_

_A boy sits in a field next to a burning house crying. Then, as if out of nowhere, a hooded man appears and pats the boy on the head. The boy looks up at the man, but cannot see his face. Time passes and the boy grows, and is seen wearing the same robe as the man who found him, only this time he is surrounded by many of the hooded men. He walks with the men in hoods until one by one they begin to disappear, until only half of them, including the boy are left. The boy then raises his hood over his head until it covers his eyes and his face vanishes into darkness. Now no matter how hard you try, you cannot tell the difference between the boy and the men in hoods. They are all one in the same._

He was woken up by his bodily clock the next day at dawn. The air was foggy and the field still dimly lit. His fire was still burning strong, so he sat next to it for about ten minutes to warm himself up as the cold dew touched his now bare skin. Walking over to the pile of equipment that he had set aside the previous night, he began to dress. First he put on his greaves, then chest plate, then boots, then gloves, and finally his robe. Next he attached his pouch of throwing knives to his ankles, and his saber sheathe to the belt of his robe. Once back into full armor, he mounted his horse and continued in a single direction. The fog wet his face as his steed galloped into the thick cloud of cold vapor. Hours passed and before long it was noon. By this time the fog had cleared, and the horizon was visible. A large object could be seen in the distance. After a few miles it was clearly visible, Hyrule Castle Town. The dusty brown stone walls erected from the ground majestically, the grand archways created a beautiful entrance, although they seemed somewhat imposing to the young assassin. Hikio rode slowly now, admiring the large city. "Hyrule Castle Town." He thought to himself. "What a large place, I can't believe this is my first time seeing it for myself." He dismounted his horse and walked it through the large archways. His mouth opened in disbelief at the sheer number of people he saw upon entering the city. Hikio had never seen this many people in a single place before. His amazement only grew when he saw so many of them speaking to each other. The city seemed like a box full of chatter to Hikio. Where he was from, people seldom spoke. The fact that so many different faces could be so clearly seen, with hardly and obscurities was unbelievable to him. "So this is a city?" He asked himself. "But the Stalmaas regime says cities must fall. People live too easily in cities, the struggle found in the natural world doesn't exist here. This way of life must be destroyed."

Hikio continued to walk his horse through the crowded city. "Hey you with the horse!" A voice called out. Hikio looked to see a scrawny man flagging his arms to get his attention. "12 rupees and I'll hold your horse for you!" Hikio looked at the sign behind the man. It read "Horse stables for rent." The assassin walked his steed to the stables. He reached in his back pocket and opened up a small bag that the guild master had given to him the previous day. Hikio thought back to what it was the guild master had said, but he struggled to remember. All he knew was that the things in that bag could be given to people in exchange for certain services. The young assassin handed over twelve of the shiny green gems and his horse. "Alright sir, now just write down your name and I'll hold onto the animal for ya." For a skilled swordsman, and master knife thrower, Hikio's handwriting was terrible. He scribbled the messiest Hylian characters you'd ever see onto the parchment. The stable manger's face contorted in shock at the sight of such ridiculous looking penmanship. "He writes like he's three." The manager mumbled to himself under his breath. "Okay, trust your horse is safe with me." He reassured as he walked the animal to its pen.

Hikio walked on, trying to scope out the city and get a better understanding of his surroundings. As he made his way through a cramped alley, he noticed a young boy crouched by a small shed. Hikio looked at the small blonde boy, only to be shocked at the fact that he was crying. Time seemed to slow down as Hikio remembered his dream from the previous night. The dream of the boy in the field crying next to a burning house. But it had been years since Hikio had seen a person crying in real life. As part of training, assassins under the Stalmaas regime learned to suppress their emotions completely. They lived and took pleasure in serving Stalmaas, nothing more. The child noticed Hikio's presence, and tried to regain his composure, but to no avail. "Why does one cry?" Hikio asked the young boy. "I-I-I accidentally thr-threw my ball on the roof." The child replied in sniffles. Hikio was perplexed for a moment by the boy's answer. He had meant it in a general sense, as he had forgotten long ago what it was like to have feelings of sadness. Looking up at the tool shed, the tightly knitted ball of cloth was visible atop the molded wooden roof. "Would you like for me to get the ball for you?" Hikio asked the child. His face brightened with joy as he nodded his head in excitement. "Yes please!" Hikio took two steps back and then sprinted towards the wall of the shed. Paying close attention to his angle he leapt from the ground and planted the ball of his foot onto the wall, followed by two more lighting fast steps up the completely vertical surface. In less than two seconds the assassin was atop the roof and holding the young boy's toy. Hikio jumped from atop the roof and landed in a roll. Once back to his feet he turned to the blonde child and handed him the ball. "Thank you sir! That was amazing." The kid then scurried off with his toy in hand. Hikio kept on with his task of scoping out the city while pondering what exactly it was that made him help the child. He was sure he didn't feel sorry for him, but something told him the go out of his way to be of service to a complete stranger. Before he could think more about the child, an idea came to his mind. "This city has huge buildings." He thought. "If I can move around on the rooftops, I'll have a better view of the city." Hikio climbed atop the highest building in sight. "Perfect. A bird's eye view of Castle Town."

_**A/N: **__Okay so if you read through this chapter, much appreciated. Please leave a review, feel free to criticize. Also I promise that in the next chapter we'll get to see our young assassin at work. Yes… He will kill a few people._


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